BRONX, N.Y. – Trailing 12-10 heading into the fourth quarter, the Navy water polo team (13-8, 5-2 MAWPC-East) scored five unanswered goals to post a 15-12 victory on the road over No. 16 Fordham (15-5, 4-2 MAWPC-East). The Midshipmen received a six-goal performance by sophomore
Isaac Salinas (Spring City, Pa.), while sophomore
Max Sandberg (Newport Beach, Calif.) tallied 11 saves and a fourth-quarter shutout at goal.
"I am so proud of this team," head coach
Luis Nicolao said after the game. "They battled the whole day. They kept the game close for the first three quarters and then broke through in the fourth. Max played his heart out at goal and made some big stops for us throughout the game. The offense scored some huge goals when we needed them. It was a great win for us. I am extremely proud."
Defensively, Sandberg worked a complete game between the pipes. The sophomore tallied 11 saves on the day. Sandberg surrendered 12 goals on the day, but held the nationally-ranked Rams scoreless in the fourth quarter. In addition, Sandberg led the team with a pair of steals.
Offensively, Salinas paced the offense with a team-high six goals. It was the 15th game this season (23rd career) for Salinas with a hat trick.
Trevor Clark (San Marcos, Calif.) and
Nate Reiff (Wheeling, Ill.) added a pair of goals apiece. Reiff and
Jake Altmayer (Pasadena, Calif.) led the team with three assists apiece. Altmayer leads the squad with a team-high 23 helpers this season as a freshman.
In the first quarter, Fordham started the scoring with a quick goal, but Salinas buried the equalizer to knot the score at 1-1. Reiff followed with a goal to give the Midshipmen their first lead of the game. The Rams tied the game at two before Salinas found the back of the net for the second time. The nationally-ranked home team tied the game 3-3, but Navy closed out the first quarter with a goal by
Merle Richman (La Jolla, Calif.).
The Rams opened the second quarter with a goal, but the Mids regained the lead with a
Kevin Volkov (Freehold, N.J.) goal. Fordham used a 4-0 run to take an 8-5 advantage, but Reiff ended the run with his second goal of the afternoon.
In the second half, T. Clark scored to cut the deficit to 8-7, but back-to-back goals by Fordham pushed the advantage to three.
Cole Jacobs (Naperville, Ill.) scored to trim the margin, but the Rams quickly responded. Salinas scored a pair of goals to send the game into the final quarter with Navy trailing 12-10.
In the fourth quarter, Salinas netted back-to-back goals to knot the score at 12-12. T. Clark broke the tie with his second goal of the game.
Zach Luci (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) added an insurance goal with just under four minutes to play in the quarter.
Bobby Lee (Santa Ana, Calif.) provided the final margin of 15-12 with a strike with just under three minutes to play. Sandberg kept the potent Rams' offense out of the cage with four of his 11 stops on the day to shut Fordham out in the fourth quarter.
Next weekend, the Mids will play a single MAWPC-East game against George Washington on Friday, Oct. 25 at Scott Natatorium in Annapolis. Game time is slated for 7:00 p.m.
